The UFC Blog

Los Angeles, California – Yet another robbery was reported in L.A. this past Saturday night, as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was robbed of the UFC light heavyweight championship by three insane men.  

Rua punished champion Lyoto Machida for five rounds with a barrage of leg and body kicks in the main event of UFC 104.  It looked like Rua did just enough to slay “The Dragon.”

Or so we thought.

The Staples Center crowd and the millions watching on pay-per-view were all in shock as Bruce Buffer announced that all three judges scored the bout 48-47 in favor of the champion.  
  
Both fighters were patient on the offensive end, as they felt each other out.  Rua opted to give his hands a bit of a rest as his feet did most of the talking.  He pummeled the legs and ribs of Machida leaving beat read welts.  

Machida would land his fair share of punishment, but Rua seemed to land the more devastating blows.  

Well that’s what I saw during the fight.  It was obvious that the judges must have been watching a different fight than the rest of us.  

There’s not much else to say, Rua got robbed and according to Dana White a rematch is already in the works.  

And for those who say, “You have to beat the champ to be the champ,” explain why Rampage Jackson lost his belt to Forrest Griffin?

Moving on…

Heavyweight Phenom Cain Velasquez improved his record to 7-0 with a total destruction of Ben Rothwell in the night’s co-main event.  

Velasquez did everything but rape Rothwell in the first round.  His ground and pound was vicious and he nearly ended the fight in round one.

A gutsy Ben Rothwell held on and was hungry for more punishment.

Velasquez served up more knuckle sandwiches in round two as he secured a single leg takedown.  He pinned Rothwell up against the cage and let loose with crushing blows to the dome.  

Just as Rothwell was about to get up, Referee Steve Mazzagatti put an end to the beatings.  It was just 43 seconds into round two.  Rothwell protested the premature stoppage, but his face told the whole story.

The fight was over and Velasquez is one scary Mexican.

The same old story for Josh Neer and Gleison Tibau played out in their lightweight match.

Neer was unable to defend takedowns and after a stellar first round Tibau gassed.

However Tibau was able to impress the judges in rounds one and three to secure the unanimous decision.  

Neer hand no answer for the strength of Tibau, but was able to land some combinations in round two.  Round three was much like round one as Tibau, running on empty, secured a few takedowns while securing the fight as well.

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson has seemed to have found a new home in New Mexico.  Under the tutelage of Greg Jackson, Stevenson won his second straight fight in the UFC.  

Stevenson out-muscled Spencer Fisher in round one scoring a late takedown.  

Round two was a continuation of round one as Stevenson scored another takedown.  Stevenson had more time to dish out punishment this go around.  

“Daddy” was able to secure side control setting up a crucifix.  With Fisher’s arm trapped, Stevenson landed a plethora of elbows that put an end to the fight with less than minute to go.

Stevenson snapped the three fight win streak of Fisher’s and looks to be back on track.

An overweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was booed perhaps for the first time in his young career, but it didn’t matter.

As the cage door closed, Johnson let the tiger out of his cage and it straight mauled Yoshiyuki Yoshida.  

After a few warm-up punches, Johnson landed a crushing right hand that put the Japanese welterweight asleep.  Mazzagatti stopped the fight with just 41 ticks off the clock.  

Johnson has been on a tear as of late and I for one can’t wait to see him fight a top five welterweight.  

Pat Barry earned “KO of the night” and “fight of the night” with Antoni Hardonk.
Stefan Struve earned “submission of the night.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
• Lyoto Machida def. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
• Cain Velasquez def. Ben Rothwell via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 0:58
• Gleison Tibau def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Joe Stevenson def. Spencer Fisher via TKO (elbows) - Round 1, 4:03
• Anthony Johnson def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida via kncokout (punch) - Round 1, 0:41
PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
• Ryan Bader defeats Eric Schafer by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-26, 30-27)
• Pat Barry def. Antoni Hardonk by TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:30
• Chael Sonnen def. Yushin Okami via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jorge Rivera def. Rob Kimmons via TKO (punches) - Round 3, 1:53
• Kyle Kingsbury def. Razak Al-Hassan via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Stefan Struve def. Chase Gormley via submission (triangle choke) - Round 1,

Los Angeles, California – The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to “The City of Angels” tonight for UFC 104.  Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida defends his light heavyweight title against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the night’s main event.

If that fight alone doesn’t tickle your fancy; we have a few more for ya.  

Heavyweights Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell will duke it out.  Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will be in action, as well as lightweights Josh Neer and Joe “Daddy” Stevenson.  

Since escaping from an air tight triangle choke from my boy Tito Ortiz at UFC 84, Lyoto Machida has been on a knockout spree as he’s knocked out Thiago Silva and most recently Rashad Evans.  

Machida (15-0) captured the light heavyweight title from Evans at UFC 98 and even had Evans doing the “stanky leg” as he knocked him out.  

He’ll get his chance to defend his crown against the 2005 Pride Middleweight grand prix winner “Shogun” Rua.  

Rua has had a rough going since coming to the UFC two years ago.  An embarrassing defeat to Forrest Griffin and then an injury sidelined him for over a year; Shogun looks to be back at one hundred percent.  

He earned his title shot with a decision victory over Mark Coleman and most recently he knocked out Chuck Liddell in April.  

Rua (18-3) is a dangerous striker, but was known early on in his career for an equally impressive ground game.  As aggressive as anyone, it might behoove Rua to tame his aggression.  His former Chute Boxe colleague Thiago Silva used the aggressive approach against Machida and was laid out five minutes in.  

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of game plan Rua brings, but he should go back to his roots and see if he can roll with Machida; if he can get him down.  Machida hasn’t faced a grappler of Rua’s caliber since his fight with BJ Penn many moons ago.

Elusive is the most common adjective to describe the champ.  Entering his eighth fight I’m still not sure if Machida has been hit yet.  

His striking is crisp and fresh, footwork is “Dancing with the Stars” material and his unibrow would make that baby in “The Simpsons” jealous.

What else is there to say?

Machida karate is back and here to stay.  The first round or so will be boring as they feel each other out.  Once round three comes around, Machida will have figured out Rua’s timing and put him to sleep.  

Who’s next for the champ?  

“Big” Ben Rothwell’s (30-6) dream of fighting in the UFC has come true, but the nightmare begins tonight as he faces heavyweight Phenom Cain Velasquez.  

Velasquez dominated Cheick Kongo (6-0) in his last fight and was even rocked on three different occasions.  Velasquez backed up the hype of being big, strong and fast, but also proved that his chin may be made of granite.  

Rothwell’s last big fight was against Andrei Arlovski last July.  He was defeated by the former UFC champ in a gutsy performance.  Arlovski is notorious to have a glass chin and had no trouble shaking off the power punches of Rothwell.  

With that being said, I don’t see Velasquez having much trouble with Rothwell’s striking.  He shook off the blasts from Kongo and Kongo packs more punch than Rothwell ever could.  

Bet the house on Velasquez, as he punishes Rothwell for three rounds.  

The almost always entertaining Josh Neer is back in lightweight action as he faces BJJ ace Gleison Tibau.  

Both fighters are coming off disappointing defeats and jobs may be on the line tonight.  

Neer (25-8-1) is the more well rounded fighter of the two, but was overpowered in his last fight against Kurt Pellegrino.  Tibau (19-6) is big and strong for a lightweight, but his cardio has always come into question.  

If Neer can stay off his back, he should have the edge standing up.  He has the tools to earn a decision victory tonight and should come out on top.

Technique vs. raw talent will be showcased as Japanese judoka Yoshiyuki Yoshida will rumble Anthony Johnson in welterweight action.  

At six feet two inches “Rumble” Johnson (7-2) might be the biggest welterweight in the UFC as he is rumored to cut up to fifty pounds.  He weighed in at 176; five pounds over the 171 lb. weight limit.  

Yoshida (11-3) is much smaller than Johnson and I hope he’s prepared to get bullied during this fight.  Johnson is too solid of a striker to let Yoshida get inside to grapple him.  It’s going to be a short night for the Japanese star.

Johnson via first round head kick.

Guillotine choke specialist Joe Stevenson will open up the PPV card as he faces Spencer “The King” Fisher in lightweight action.

Fisher (23-4) is on a three fight win streak, but it ends tonight as Stevenson out muscles him for three rounds.  

Stevenson (30-10) has switched camps to the Jackson camp in New Mexico and will impose his will on Fisher tonight.  

Stevenson via lay and pray, unanimous decision victory.  

Tune into SpikeTV an hour before the PPV for two preliminary fights.  

UFC 104 – Staples Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
• Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua (light heavyweight title fight)
• Ben Rothwell vs. Cain Velasquez
• Josh Neer vs. Gleison Tibau
• Spencer Fisher vs. Joe Stevenson
• Anthony Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
• Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer
• Patrick Barry vs. Antoni Hardonk
PRELIMINARY CARD (Not televised)
• Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen
• Rob Kimmons vs. Jorge Rivera
• Razak Al-Hassan vs. Kyle Kingsbury
• Stefan Struve vs. Chase Gormley

For Immediate Release

Contact: Stephanie Forte, sforte@fortecreativemedia.com
Ph. 702.898.2547 Cell 702.596.9866

LAS VEGAS  (October 20, 2009) – XYIENCE, the official energy drink of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), brings legendary fighter Wanderlei Silva to New York City on Sunday, Oct. 25. Silva will sign autographs at Duane Reade, located on 1350 Broadway, near Herald Square, from noon – 2 p.m. The Brazilian-born Silva has achieved iconic status in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), stacking up 32 wins, most of them by knockout, in his illustrious career. Silva’s appearance coincides with the MMA World Expo, to be held Oct. 24 – 25 at the Javits Center in New York City.  

XYIENCE’s Xenergy Premium hit the shelves of Duane Reade stores in Manhattan just two months ago, as a result of the brand’s relationship with New York-based Exclusive Beverage Distribution.  The distributor, established in 1960 with more than 250 stores in commercial and residential neighborhoods of New York, anticipates a large turnout for the event.

Through its sponsorship of the UFC, the XYIENCE brand reaches 420 million households worldwide.  The UFC’s current television distribution allows sponsors like XYIENCE to reach 40 million U.S. households and 380 million households outside the U.S. in over 100 countries and territories, with programming delivered in 20 languages.

About XYIENCE
XYIENCE nutritional products provide clean, sustainable energy necessary for an active lifestyle.  Established in Las Vegas in 2004, XYIENCE is one of the fastest-growing brands in its category.  All products are held to the most stringent standards of excellence to enable professional and amateur athletes and fitness enthusiasts to reach their goals in training and life.

Xenergy (A combination of Zen and Energy, pronounced “Zen-ergy”)
XYIENCE supports the mixed martial arts lifestyle.  Its energy drink, Xenergy, and its energy shot, X Shot, are the official energy drink and energy shot of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).  The first energy drink created by a nutrition company, Xenergy has zero calories and is a sugar-free drink fortified with vitamins.  All-natural flavors provide a consistent supply of energy, sans the “crash” inherent with most other energy drink brands.  Xenergy Premium Energy flavors include Cherry Lime, Cran Razz, Mango Guava and Blu Pom.  Xenergy Xtreme Energy flavors include Lemon Blast, Citrus Slam, Cherry Rush and Apple Jak’d.  Xenergy is available in retail stores throughout the United States and Canada.  Visit www.xyience.com for details.

Don’t miss an all new episode of The Ultimate Fighter Tonight on Spike.

Kimbo lost last week but is he gone for good?

For those of you who haven’t heard Chuck is now dancing his way into the fans hearts. You can catch Chuck tonight on abc and vote for him and Anna.

Don’t miss ProMMARadio tonight.

To listen live or for more information click here.

This is from www.rampage-jackson.com

I’m done fighting..Posted by Rampage Jackson on September 22, 2009 at 4:43pm

Send Message   Add as Friend   View Rampage Jackson’s blog

The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddel even when I clearly stated I wasn’t ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn’t know me but I took the fight and didn’t complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them & it hurt me deeply.

Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.

Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Vanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn’t want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn’t have had a long break between camp. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn’t even worth it to me financially).

Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Vanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn’t make it to but I couldn’t fight cause I needed jaw surgury. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That’s why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained & I did it all.

Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bull**** & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I’m not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I’m done fighting. I’ve been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don’t pay my bills or put my kids though college. So I’m hanging it up. I’m gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they’ll follow me to my new career & I will gain more loyal fans along the way. & all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy ass! & anybody that don’t like what I just said can come try to kick my ass!

I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn’t respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for & thats all that matters to me!

UFC 103 Review

Dallas, Texas – Vitor Belfort’s return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship was phenomenal Saturday night as he made quick work of Rich Franklin.

It took “The Phenom” a little more than three minutes to find the button on Rich Franklin scoring a TKO over the former middleweight champ.  Their 195 pound catch weight fight capped off UFC 103 which took place at the American Airlines Arena.

The fighters felt each other out for the first few minutes before Belfort connected with a left hand knocking down Franklin.  Belfort pounced at a grounded Franklin connecting with a few more shots; the fight was quickly stopped as Franklin went limp.

“I’m here to work,” Belfort said of a potential match-up. “Anderson’s my friend. I like him as a fighter. He’s a great fighter. But if Dana (White) and Frank (Fertitta) decide … I’m an employee and I’m here to fight anyone who steps in the ring.”

Vitor is now in the middleweight title contender talk with the victory.  I wouldn’t mind seeing him face Anderson Silva and have Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson go toe to toe.

Junior Dos Santos continued his ascent up the heavyweight title ladder as he punished Pride superstar Mirko Cro Cop for two and half rounds.

Dos Santos used an aggressive pace landing punches, knees and elbows from the clinch winning rounds one and two.

Cro Cop continued to back peddle in round three and was unable to get any offense going.  Dos Santos meanwhile kept the pressure on with knees and punches from the clinch and Cro Cop decided he had enough.  

Covering his eye, Cro Cop verbally submitted with just two minutes to go in round three.  Cro Cop hasn’t been the aggressive KO artist that won the Pride open weight grand prix a few years ago.  He didn’t have much success in the octagon with his left head kicks maybe due to the UFC mats, “The mat was slippery like glass. I almost fell down trying to do the left high kick. But I’m not looking for an alibi.”

“Maybe I should’ve quit after I won the open weight grand prix.”
Could this be the last we see of the Croatian?

Meanwhile the skies the limit for Dos Santos who moves to 9-1 in his career, would he fight teammate Antonio Nogueira?

British import Paul “Semtex” Daley was more than impressive against welterweight contender Martin Kampmann knocking him out in the very first round.
The fighters set a torrid pace trading shots until Daley found the button first knocking Kampmann silly.  Kampmann was out on his feet as Daley continued the onslaught.  

Referee Yves Lavigne was right there to stop the fight and the punishment to Kampmann.  Kampmann was angry at the decision, but he was clearly not defending himself.  

“A very just decision,” Daley said of the stoppage. “The referee obviously saw … that his eyes went a couple of times. He was only trying to protect his health. I would have hurt him, so good stoppage.”

A rumored bout with Mike Swick may be next for Daley, Swick was scheduled to fight Kampmann but pulled out due to injury.  The winner of this rumored bout may be next in line for GSP.

Josh Koscheck needed just 85 seconds to send Frank Trigg packing once again from the UFC.  

Koscheck landed a huge right hand sending Trigg down against the cage; he quickly followed it up with more punches.  The fight was stopped shortly after.  An unpleased Trigg quickly bounced to his feet arguing with the ref.  Trigg would later tweet that the decision was justified after watching the tape.

Koscheck made no bones about who he would like to face next, "I know there’s a guy who just signed a new contract, and his name is Matt Hughes," Koscheck said. "I’ve been asking for that one for a long time … but I’ll fight anyone, anytime, anyplace."

For Trigg it’s either another shot in the UFC or retirement as he no longer wants to fight for the smaller organizations.  

Lightweight contender Tyson Griffin found another way to win against Hermes Franca.  Griffin known for his streak of decision victories that spanned over three years knocked out Franca in round two.

Both fighters were booed for the lack of action in round one, but Griffin dropped Franca in round two and finished the fight.

Griffin moves to 7-2 in the UFC while Franca has dropped 3 out 4.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
• Vitor Belfort def. Rich Franklin via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:02
• Junior Dos Santos def. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic via submission (verbal) - Round 3, 2:00
• Paul Daley def. Martin Kampmann via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 2:31
• Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:25
• Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 3:26
• Efrain Escudero def. Cole Miller via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 3:36
• Tomasz Drwal def. Drew McFedries via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 1:03
• Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez via TKO (injury) - Round 2, 0:48
• Nick Lentz def. Rafaello Oliveira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Rick Story def. Brian Foster via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 2, 1:09
• Eliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz via split decision (30-28, 27-30, 30-27)
• Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Rafael Dos Anjos def. Rob Emerson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Dallas, Texas – Former champions are set to throw down tonight in the lone star state, as Rich “Ace” Franklin welcomes back “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  

UFC 103 “Franklin VS Belfort” will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas Texas and live on pay-per-view starting at 10pm ET.

The co-main event will feature heavyweight superstar Mirko Cro Cop as he attempts to make one last run at UFC gold, rising star Junior Dos Santos will be in his way.  

Former number one welterweight contender Frank Trigg returns to the octagon after a four year absence and will have his hands full as he faces Josh Koscheck.

7/19/2008 marked the second coming of Vitor Belfort as he beat the hell out of Terry Martin at Affliction “Banned.”  He followed up that stunning performance with a brutal knockout at the expense of Matt Lindland.  

Tito Ortiz exclaimed that “Vitor Belfort is back!”

Belfort has seemed to recapture his past form and is indeed back, back at the “big show,” the UFC.

The former heavyweight turned light heavyweight champion is now fighting as a middleweight.  His opponent will be former middleweight title holder Rich “Ace” Franklin as they fight at a catch weight of 195.

Franklin is arguably the most underrated fighter in recent memory.  He’s lost only on four occasions against Lyoto Machida, Dan Henderson and twice to Anderson Silva.  Franklin has his sights set on the light heavyweight division and a possible rematch with Machida.  

Franklin’s strengths have always been his technical striking and ability to stick and move.  What has given his opponents fits in the past is that he’s a southpaw, but he will be facing Belfort who is also a lefty.

Belfort has had the most success coming out aggressive early.  His hands are powerful and fast, not to mention that he was primarily known as BJJ stud early on in his career.  Belfort needs to turn up the heat early on Franklin as Franklin is known to stick and move his away to decision victories.

If Franklin can get out of round one alive, he should be able to secure another decision victory while ruining another contender for Anderson Silva.

Fan favorite Mirko Cro Cop is back in action and is hungry for gold, UFC gold.  He will be facing a fighter equally hungry and equally dangerous in Brazilian Junior Dos Santos.  

Dos Santos, a Team Black House protégé, has been straight nasty since his arrival to the UFC.  TKO victories over Fabricio Werdum and Stefan Struve have landed him his biggest fight to date.  

At 25, Dos Santos is young and mean.  His standup is lethal like Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida while his ground game is reminiscent of the Nogueira’s.  He’s aggressive and that will prove dividends against Cro Cop.

Cro Cop hasn’t performed at a top level since his victory over Josh Barnett back in 2006.  Sure he beat Eddie Sanchez, Hong Man Choi and Mustapha Al Turk, but looked straight scared against Kongo and Alistair Overeem.  

There is no secret that both fighters want to stand and trade.  Cro Cop is easily frustrated when back pedaling, but is always a left head kick away from lights out.  

I would love to see another title run for Cro Cop, but Dos Santos is nasty and his time is now.  Dos Santos wins by decision.

Mirror images will be fighting in welterweight action as oldie but goodie Frank Trigg faces off against his younger counter part Josh Koscheck.

Some of you may not remember Frank Trigg; he was the one who gave up his back not once but twice to Matt Hughes in their title fights.  

Well he’s back for one more chance at UFC glory, will he be remembered for being choked out twice by Hughes or do we have a comeback story in the making?

Josh Koscheck wants to end any comeback stories and get back into the title contention at 170.  Koscheck is younger, faster and a better version of Frank Trigg.  Kos will outwrestle the 37 year old and end the fight via rear-naked choke.

Should be an excellent night of fights, you’ll get more bang for your buck for a UFC card than boxing.  

Who’s Mayweather fighting again?  Not Pacman!  

Watch the UFC!

Spike will be airing someundercard fights one hour before the pay-per-view.

MAIN CARD (pay-per-view)
• Vitor Belfort vs. Rich Franklin
• Junior Dos Santos vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
• Paul Daley vs. Martin Kampmann
• Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg
• Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
• Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller
• Tomasz Drwal vs. Drew McFedries
PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-aired)
• Steve Lopez vs. Jim Miller
• Nick Lentz vs. Rafaello Oliveira
• Brian Foster vs. Rick Story
• Jason Brilz vs. Eliot Marshall
• Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Igor Pokrajac
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rob Emerson

UFC 103 tomorrow night, preview will be up soon.

Main event:

195 lbs.: Rich “Ace” Franklin (195) vs. Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (196.25*)

Main card (Televised on PPV):

265 lbs.: Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos (236) vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (226)
170 lbs.: Martin “Hitman” Kampmann (169.5) vs. Paul “Semtex” Daley (170)
170 lbs.: Josh “Kos” Koscheck (170) vs. Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg (170.25)
155 lbs.: Hermes Franca (159**) vs. Tyson Griffin (155.5)

Under card (Partially televised on Spike TV):

155 lbs.: Efrain “Hecho en Mexico” Escudero (157***) vs. Cole “Magrino” Miller (155)
155 lbs.: Jim Miller (154.5) vs. Steve Lopez (154.5)
155 lbs.: Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira (155.25) vs. Nick “The Carnie” Lentz (155)
170 lbs.: Brian Foster (170.75) vs. Rick Story (170)
185 lbs.: Tomasz “The Gorilla” Drwal (185) vs. Drew “The Massacre” McFedries (185.25)
205 lbs.: Eliot “The Fire” Marshall (204.75) vs. Jason Brilz (205.25)?
205 lbs.: Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko (205) vs. Igor Pokrajac (203)
155 lbs.: Rafael dos Anjos (155.5) vs. Rob “The Saint” Emerson (155.5)

Props to John Morgan at MMAJUNKIE.COM.

DALLAS – UFC light heavyweight superstar Quinton "Rampage" Jackson’s decision to forego a December bout with Rashad Evans has resulted in a series of headaches for UFC brass.

Rescheduling main events and shuffling fight locations may seem troubling enough, but today White admitted he was forced to scrap plans for a potential third event in November based on Jackson’s decision to take a role as B.A. Baracus in a feature film version of "The A-Team."

"Thanks to [expletive] B.A. Baracus, I couldn’t [expletive] pull it off," White said. "B.A. [expletive] me. The collateral damage that was done by him doing this thing was unbelievable."

That revelation comes at a particularly interesting time when paired with today’s Strikeforce announcement that the organization will host an event on CBS on Nov. 7 – the rumored date of the now-scrapped UFC event – that will feature top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.

But White said the loss of a counter-programming option is but one of the effects of Jackson’s Hollywood aspirations.

With Jackson withdrawing from a planned December bout with opposing "The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights" coach Evans – a bout that was scheduled to take place in "Rampage’s" hometown of Memphis, Tenn. – White was forced to schedule a B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez bout in the main event of the as-yet-unannounced UFC 107 event.

White said that switch forced a domino effect for the organization’s remaining 2009 events.

"You have no idea how much collateral damage was done by [Jackson] pulling out of this thing," White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "It literally screwed up the rest of our year. We’ve got B.J. Penn fighting in Memphis, you know what I mean?"

White said he thought he had talked "Rampage" out of doing the movie, but the situation quickly took a turn for the worse.

"What happens is, [Jackson] calls up and says he’s doing this movie. I said, ‘No, you’re not. You’re going to fight Rashad in December. You do whatever you want to do after this fight. You want to retire and become an actor? You want to join the monastery? I don’t care what you do after this fight, but ‘Rampage,’ you’re going to fight this fight.’

"He said, ‘OK.’ Then he had his manager fly in from England and met me at the hangar before I was leaving to go out of town to tell me that he wasn’t going to (fight Evans). [Rampage] and I haven’t talked since."

While many MMA observers have wondered aloud how White could allow Jackson to walk away from the fight, the UFC exec said his hands were tied.

"You can’t make anybody fight," White said. "I can’t force anybody to fight. You don’t want to fight, then you’re not going to fight. And you don’t want a guy going into it whose head isn’t in to fighting, anyway.

"If you’d rather be on the set of ‘The A-Team,’ then you definitely don’t belong in the octagon."

White admits Jackson’s decision has caused a rift between the two.

"I feel like he [expletive] me," White said. "I’m not even talking to ‘Rampage.’ I’m really, really upset with ‘Rampage.’"

One more victim of the collateral damage was original opponent Evans. White said he’s simply not sure what the next move for "Sugar" will be.

"[Evans] is really messed up over this whole thing," White said. "He wants to fight ‘Rampage.’

"When you get your mind set that this is who you’re going to fight – he’s bummed out about it. I think he’s going to need a little recovery time before we decide if he’s fighting ‘Rampage’ or somebody else."

Oklahoma City, OK – Melvin Guillard looked to be on his way to upsetting Nate Diaz Wednesday night in the main event of Ultimate Fight Night 19, but made one critical mistake and was forced into submission.  

The main event capped off a night of stellar fights which aired free on Spike TV and 7,500 fans filled the Cox Convention Center.

Guillard looked impressive in round one knocking down Diaz with a big right hand and taking the Stockton native down with ease.  

Round two was a different story.

A mistake that has plagued Guillard on more than one occasion reared its ugly head once again.  Guillard succeeded on a takedown of Diaz, but gave up his neck doing so.  Diaz secured an air tight guillotine choke and Guillard tapped moments later 2:13 of round two.

With the victory, Diaz snapped a two-fight losing streak and snapped Guillard’s three fight winning streak.  

Sports Illustrated cover boy Roger Huerta appeared to have no ring rust in his co-main event fight against Gray Maynard.  

Huerta took control of the fight early on with his stand up and takedown defense.  Maynard was unable to get any offense going in round one, but turned it on in rounds two and three earning a split decision victory.

For whatever reason, Maynard waited till the last round to apply his wrestling skills taking Huerta down.  Maynard worked for kimura late in round three nearly ripping Huerta’s shoulder out of his skin.  I nearly tossed my cookies at the sight of Huerta’s shoulder coming out of his skin.  Huerta toughed it out, but was unable to get back to his feet losing the round to Maynard.

The judges awarded Maynard the fight with scores of 28-29, 30-27 and 30-27.

The victory moves Maynard, now 8-0 overall, even deeper into title contention. Huerta, meanwhile, drops to 20-3-1 with the first back-to-back losses of his career

Huerta still received a lot of love from the fans despite his plans to pursue his Hollywood dreams instead of UFC glory.  Good luck Roger and hope to see you soon, back in the Octagon.

Jake Ellenberger was impressive in his UFC debut, but fell a tad short to former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit in a split decision loss.

Ellenberger dominated Condit every second of round one nearly ending the fight on numerous occasions.  You have to give credit to the ref, who was spot on during this fight.  Condit was in trouble, but the ref had sense enough to know that he wasn’t in too much trouble, to stop the fight prematurely.  

Condit was the better conditioned fighter and took control of rounds two and three earning a split decision victory.  The scores were of 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in favor of Condit.

Condit earned his first career victory in the UFC, while Ellenberger’s four-fight win streak was cut short.

The first televised bout of the evening was off the hook as Nate Quarry and Tim Credeur beat the hell out of each other for three entertaining rounds.  

Credeur’s stand-up, which was shocking in his last fights, improved greatly as he pummeled Quarry in round one.  He was able to drop Quarry once and lumped him up under his right eye.

Quarry turned up the heat in rounds two and three dominating the stand-up, dropping Credeur on numerous occasions.  To Credeur’s credit, he peppered Quarry but couldn’t match his power.

Quarry used his ground and pound to neutralize the brilliant ground game of Credeur and did enough to secure a unanimous decision victory.  The scores were 29-28, 29-27, 29-28.

All the fights were great, but this one earned top honors as “fight of the night.”

Diaz earned a Submission of the Night bonus, Stephens earned the night’s Knockout of the Night award, and Quarry and Credeur won Fight of the Night honors for their performances,

OFFICIAL RESULTS
• Nate Diaz def. Melvin Guillard via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 2:13
• Gray Maynard def. Roger Huerta via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
• Carlos Condit def. Jake Ellenberger via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Nate Quarry def. Tim Credeur via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)
• Brian Stann def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Mike Pyle def. Chris Wilson via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 3, 2:15
• C.B. Dollaway def. Jay Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jeremy Stephens def. Justin Buchholz via TKO (doctor’s stoppage, cut) - Round 1, 3:23
• Mike Pierce def. Brock Larson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Ryan Jensen def. Steve Steinbeiss via technical submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 3:56

Oklahoma City, Okla-  The much anticipated tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter “the heavyweights” debuts tonight on Spike.  The star studded cast will feature four former NFL pros, a former IFL champion and Youtube legend Kimbo Slice all vying for the ultimate prize, a six figure contract in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  

TUF starts at 10 o’clock tonight, but before that we have a stellar night of fights featuring many of the UFC’s up and coming fighters.

Ultimate Fight Night 19 will feature a main event between lightweights Nate Diaz and Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard as they look to stake their claim within the division.  

Young Nate Diaz is desperate for a victory as he has dropped his last two bouts it will be no easy task as Guillard is currently riding a three fight win streak.  

Diaz’ ground game is phenomenal with sick submissions and his boxing albeit unorthodox is always dangerous.  He’ll have a nice reach advantage but gives up size and strength to Guillard.

Guillard has struggled in the past against strong grapplers, but his raw power and explosiveness needs to be respected.  He has a strong punchers chance as Diaz is more than happy to stand and bang.  He might not want to shoot in on Diaz as Diaz has a very active guard and his dangerous off his back.  

Diaz looks hungry and has put on some muscle for this fight.  He’s determined to be the victor tonight and I like his chances.  Diaz will represent The 209 to the fullest with a second round submission victory.

“El Matador” Roger Huerta has been MIA pursuing the Hollywood dream in recent months, but is set to return to the warm embrace of “The Bully” Gray Maynard.  A victory over Huerta will solidify Maynard as a lightweight elitist.  

Huerta has been out of action for over a year since losing to Kenny Florian at UFC 87.  He had expressed his unhappiness with fighter compensation and will look to Hollywood for greener pastures.  He’ll get his chance after this fight with Maynard as it’s the last contracted one.  

The talented and undefeated Maynard is your typical wrestler with decent standup.  His last four victories have been all decisions and he needs an impressive victory here tonight.  

Huerta has been known to struggle with strong wrestlers as Clay Guida and Kenny Florian frustrated him with takedowns.  His muay thai should give him the striking advantage as Maynard has struggled checking leg kicks and body kicks.  He’ll also have to shake a decent amount of ring rust.

With that being said I like Maynard to grind out yet another unanimous decision via lay and pray.  Huerta is talented and should continue his fighting career instead of movies.  

Middleweight Nate Quarry will be in action as he faces Tim Credeur.  

Quarry has been impressive with exception to his humbling submission loss to Demian Maia.  Quarry has strong stand-up with KO power in both hands.  He’ll be facing a tough Tim Credeur.  

Credeur is tough on the ground with great submissions, but his standup is shocking in my opinion.  He hasn’t had much success against top level competition like Quarry and will struggle again tonight.  

Quarry has too much power in his hands and it will be on full display tonight as he KO’s Tim Credeur.

Former WEC champion Carlos Condit will be welcoming Jake Ellenberger to the octagon.  Condit was on a wrong side of a split decision against Martin Kampmann back in April.  He promises to deliver his second time around.  

Condit has had success on the feet with his precision striking, but the power beheld by Ellenberger might throw him off his game.  

Condit is a former champion and has the talent to challenge for the welterweight title; he should come out victorious tonight.

MAIN CARD

•Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard
•Roger Huerta vs. Gray Maynard
•Carlos Condit vs. Jake Ellenberger
•Tim Credeur vs. Nate Quarry
PRELIMINARY CARD
•Steve Cantwell vs. Brian Stann
•Mike Pyle vs. Chris Wilson
•C.B. Dollaway vs. Jay Silva
•Phillipe Nover vs. Sam Stout
•Justin Buchholz vs. Jeremy Stephens
•Brock Larson vs. Mike Pierce
•Ryan Jensen vs. Steven Steinbeiss

Ultimate Nutrition Full Combat Official Sponsor of Pro MMA Radio

Farmington, CT  September 1st, 2009  — To further the 30th anniversary celebration, Ultimate Nutrition announced their partnership with PRO MMA Radio as the Official Sponsor.

Pro MMA Radio is owned, produced and hosted by Larry Pepe. Larry writes MMA content for Flex Magazine (the leading bodybuilding magazine in the industry) and Bodybuilding.com (the leading, heaviest trafficked website in the industry) and is considered an expert on MMA, bodybuilding and fitness.

“Larry Pepe and Pro MMA Radio aligned perfectly with Ultimate Nutrition Full Combat. He is the leader in the MMA industry and Ultimate Nutrition has been hailed as a global leader and best in class for 30 years,” said Brian Rubino, Vice President, Ultimate Nutrition. “PRO MMA Radio will help solidify our position and our new MMA line Full Combat.”

“I am thrilled to join forces with Team Ultimate Nutrition Full Combat.” said Larry Pepe, The Voice of MMA Radio. “Creating a leadership position in Mixed Martial Arts requires a complete commitment to the sport, whether in the cage, the lab or on the air. With the creation of their MMA-specific Full Combat line, Ultimate Nutrition has demonstrated its dedication to the fighters, the sport and anyone who wants to get the most out of their workouts. Pro MMA Radio shares that passion and dedication to MMA. And all the feedback I get on the products is that they are phenomenal!”

About Ultimate Nutrition.

Since 1979, Ultimate Nutrition has been fueling bodies with the best nutritional supplements to achieve your goals, whatever they may be. With Ultimate Nutrition being one of the most tenured companies in the industry, we were among the first to have amino acid tablets, carbohydrate powders, fat burners, and whey protein powder. Today, Ultimate Nutrition is among the leading innovators in the supplement industry, with products that can enhance your life no matter what your goals are.

Ultimate Nutrition uses only the purest ingredients to produce nutritional supplements, with quality that never wavers. No matter what the product may be, Ultimate Nutrition promises a consistency other companies can only dream about. You can be sure that what you see on the label is what is in the bottle. That was Ultimate Nutrition’s promise and commitment over 30 years ago, and still remains our promise and commitment to this very day.

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UFC 102 Champion Thiago Silva took longer signing his contract with Full Combat then it took him to knock out Keith Jardine at UFC 102!

Ultimate Nutrition’s Full Combat is also the New Proud Sponsor of ProMMARadio with Larry Pepe.

UFC 102 “Couture VS Nogueira” may not have been the most stacked card in recent memory, but it was solid and very entertaining.

The main event, which featured legendary fighters Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture, delivered as they battled it out for three back and forth rounds.  Nogueira dominated the stand-up and out grappled Couture earning a unanimous decision victory.  “Big Nog” knocked Couture down twice and nearly submitted him, but Couture endured proving why he’s never been submitted in the Octagon.  

With this victory, Nogueira silenced the doubters that he was finished after the Mir fight and warranted himself a title shot in the future.  

Couture still has that fire burning within to compete and has signed a six fight contract to end his career where it started.  Intriguing fights is what he wants so don’t be surprised to see him back in action against the likes of Anderson Silva or Lyoto Machida.

After suffering a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida in January, Thiago Silva was desperate to rebound in exciting fashion.  He did just that as he scored a first round technical knock out against Keith Jardine during the night’s co-main event.  

Silva is now 14-1 and eager to avenge his lone loss to current champion Lyoto Machida.  He might have to wait till next year, but at 26 his future is extremely bright.

Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine has proven in the past that he can beat the likes of Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin on any given night, but his inconsistency from fight to fight has continued to plague his once promising career.  With the loss, Jardine has lost four of his last six fights and is moving closer to the stigma of “gate-keeper” for the light heavyweight division.

Speaking of inconsistent and gate keeping, middleweight fan favorite Chris Leben was in action Saturday night as he was put to sleep by Jake Rosholt.  Leben was slow and sluggish as he could not connect with his big left hand and fell victim to a third round arm-triangle.  

Rosholt bounced back after a disappointing UFC debut against Dan Miller and at 27 he will only get better.  As he continues to improve his already strong wrestling base by fine tuning his standup, Rosholt could be a contender in a few years, but only time will tell.

A middleweight fight that many considered main event quality, ended in quick and devastating fashion as Nate “The Great” Marquardt knocked out BJJ wizard Demian Maia in just 21 seconds.  

Many thought if Maia was able to get to the ground the fight would be over, he was able to get to the ground, but too bad for him; he was unconscious.  Marquardt continued his assault on the middleweight division with his third straight stoppage and has inched closer to a rematch with Anderson Silva.

A title shot was not promised to the winner of this bout as Dan Henderson looms in the background.  As Anderson Silva continues fighting outside his division, a possible fight between Marquardt and Henderson would clear up the confusion of the number one contender.  

Brandon “The Truth” Vera looks to be more comfortable within the light heavyweight division as he earned a unanimous decision over Krzysztof Soszynski.  Vera landed a huge kick to the body early in the fight that seemed to take the wind out of Soszynski.  He was unable to get any offense going and was gassing towards the end of the fight.  

Vera looked good in this fight, but not great.  He lacks the killer instinct that he had early on in his career.  He’ll need to pull the trigger in future fights as he will get stiffer competition in the future.  

The original “Phenom” will be in action in a few weeks as Vitor Belfort returns to the UFC, but we may have witnessed the birth of a new “Phenom” as Todd Duffee only needed 7 seconds to stake a claim for himself within the heavyweight division.  

Duffee stiffened Tim Hague with a jab and followed it up with a huge hook while Hague was on the ground, earning his first UFC victory and fastest KO record.  He’s big, strong and mean just like Brock!

Headliners Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture earned "Fight of the Night" honors, Nate Marquardt earned a "Knockout of the Night" bonus check, and Jake Rosholt was awarded the "Submission of the Night" at Saturday’s UFC 102 event.  All received 60K for their efforts.

Fights were awesome tonight.  A few big KO’s, a legendary match between two hall of famers and some solid submissions.  Here is the quick results with a full review later.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
•Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Randy Couture via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
•Thiago Silva def. Keith Jardine via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 1:35
•Jake Rosholt def. Chris Leben via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 3, 1:30
•Nate Marquardt def. Demian Maia via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 0:21
•Brandon Vera def. Krzysztof Soszynski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
•Aaron Simpson def. Ed Herman via TKO (injury) - Round 2, 0:17
•Gabriel Gonzaga def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:27
•Mike Russow def. Justin McCully via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
•Todd Duffee def. Tim Hague via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:07
•Mark Munoz def. Nick Catone via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
•Evan Dunham def. Marcus Aurelio via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Here are the Randy Couture vlogs:

Legends will collide this Saturday night in Portland, Oregon as Randy “The Natural” Couture faces off with Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira.  

The Rose Garden will be hosting The Ultimate Fighting Championship for the very first time and the card is full of entertaining fights.  The co-main event will feature light heavyweight contenders Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine and Thiago Silva as they look to rebound off their latest defeats.

Well it’s better late than never when it comes to the main event between Couture and Nogueira.  A fight that almost happened back in 2000 at the Rings King of Kings final will finally take place tomorrow night.  

After losing his UFC heavyweight championship to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, Randy Couture is set to make one more run at the belt.  His trek will not be an easy one as he faces the most resilient fighter in MMA history in “Minotauro” Nogueira.

Having never been finished in his previous 37 fights, Nogueira’s streak ended at UFC 92 when he suffered a TKO at the hands of Frank Mir; losing the UFC interim heavyweight championship.  

These former champions both have the bad taste of defeat still in their mouths and a victory Saturday will give them another shot at championship glory.

The strengths are well known for both fighters.  Randy is a “natural” when it comes to wrestling and his dirty boxing is punishing.  Nogueira is undoubtedly the world’s top heavyweight submission specialist and his boxing is sound technically.  

The weaknesses are just as obvious, as the clock may be ticking on both of their legendary careers.  

At first glance, one would think that Nogueira is the elder of the two warriors, but at 33 he’s 13 years younger than the 46 year old Couture.  Nogueira has gained the reputation as the ultimate come from behind fighter as he’s pulled out victories on the brink of defeat on more than one occasion.  This will be the 39th professional fight for Nogueira and many of those fights were all out wars.  After so many battles, does Nogueira have enough in the tank for another title run?
  
Randy Couture faced similar adversity back in 2006 after being knocked out by Chuck Liddell.  After a brief retirement, he was able to comeback after a year off and destroyed Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight crown.  

This fight is hard to predict due to the past performances of Nogueira.  In my opinion, Nogueira hasn’t looked like the dominant fighter that ruled Japan since his arrival to the UFC in 2007.  Heath Herring nearly kicked his head off; Tim Sylvia was schooling him in the standup till he got choked out and Frank Mir finished him for the first time in his career, although he was also fighting staph infection.

Are we going to see Nogueira at 100 percent or has he taken too much punishment?

With that being said; as much as I would love to see Nogueira pull out another submission victory, I’ll have to give the nod to Randy.  He’ll control the fight standing and on the ground and will win via decision.  

Fireworks are sure to happen during the Thiago Silva and Keith Jardine bout.  Both are coming off a loss in their last fights and are desperate to get back in the mix for a light heavyweight title shot.

Silva will have to keep the pressure on Jardine in this one and stay away from his devastating leg kicks.  Jardine is the more technically sound fighter of the two, as the ultra aggressive Silva loves to brawl.  Don’t look for this fight to go to the ground unless somebody is getting knocked out.  

Can Thiago Silva rebound from his first defeat or will Keith Jardine continue his humble ascent up the light heavyweight ranks?  

I have to go with my boy “The Dean of Mean” he nearly beat “Rampage” and Silva’s chin is suspect.  Jardine wins by second round TKO.

The most anticipated fight for me will be the middleweight bout between Nate “The Great” Marquardt and Demian Maia.  

Maia is undefeated and hands down the greatest BJJ grappler breathing.  He is a wizard on the ground and his standup continues to improve as he spars with Wanderlei Silva daily.  It’s no secret that he wants to take Marquardt to the ground, but will Nate be too strong for the Brazilian Maia?

Marquardt is a seven time King of Pancrase with tons of experience.  He holds the edge striking wise and his one of the strongest fighters in the division.  He’s hell bound on getting another crack at Anderson Silva, but he needs to defeat Maia first.  

A title shot in the near future is on the line and I see this fight going to the ground at least once meaning Maia will find a way to submit Marquardt.  

Portland native Chris Leben will be entertaining his hometown fans but he’ll have his hands full with NCAA wrestling champion Jake Rosholt.

Leben hasn’t fought since October where he lost to Michael Bisping.  Leben was popper for steroids and suspended.  The heavy handed southpaw has had trouble in the past dealing with strong wrestlers.  If he can keep the fight standing he should be able please his hometown fans with another exciting knockout.

Light heavyweights Brandon Vera and Krzytof Soszynski will be battling it out to crack the top ten in the division in the night’s first televised bout.  

They are both coming off victories and hungry for more.  Vera has more experience and is the more technically of the two.  Where Soszynski lacks technically he makes up for in his size and strength.  His punches are powerful but slow and he’ll need to defend the strong leg kicks from Vera.  

Vera has the experience and his standup is a tad superior to Soszynski’s.  Vera should be able to squeak out a decision.  

UFC 102 – Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.

MAIN CARD
• Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
• Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
• Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
• Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
• Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brandon Vera
PRELIMINARY CARD
• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Chris Tuchscherer
• Justin McCully vs. Mike Russow
• Todd Duffee vs. Tim Hague
• Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
• Marcus Aurelio vs. Evan Dunham
• Ed Herman vs. Aaron Simpson

A rumored bout between fellow ground and pound specialists Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman and my boy Tito Ortiz is all but official for November 21 in Las Vegas, and if that’s not enough…

A heavyweight title bout between two monsters Brock Lesnar and KO artist Shane Carwin is headlining the ppv.

From Shane-Carwin.com:

“I have verbally been offered the fight with Brock and I have verbally accepted this fight. My manager and the UFC are handling the the details. I am honored that the UFC has given me this opportunity. The fans of this sport are what makes MMA so great. I expect to be fighting at UFC 106 in November.”

Somebody is going to get pummeled in this one and Dana White agrees:

“Brock is ready to go now and wants to fight. Carwin makes the most sense. He’s 11-0, and he’s been kicking the [expletive] out of everybody. [Gabriel] Gonzaga destroyed [Mirko] Cro Cop and he [Carwin] totally destroyed Gonzaga. Plus, he hates Brock Lesnar. It’s going to be two huge guys going at it. He’s got the power to knock anybody out and he’s got great wrestling too. He’s one of the guys that has the size to match up with Brock, too. This is one of those fights that could be wild. Someone’s going to get their head knocked off.”

This PPV should do record numbers, can’t wait!